


Diamond Rings and Old Barstools

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flying Doctors
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Fluff, Het, Not Dead Damn It!, Romance, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 13:57:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12344055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Gibbo and Sharon tidy up after a lock-in at the pub.





	Diamond Rings and Old Barstools

**Author's Note:**

> For October Bingo - title as prompt

"So, remind me why we're doing this again?" 

Gibbo asked the question to Sharon as he locked the front door of the Majestic, turning to glance at the clock above the bar as he flicked off most of the lights in the pub, leaving on only the ones around the bar area. The clock showed just past one in the morning and since they'd been travelling from early in the morning, he could hear his bed calling to him. Sharon, on the other hand, didn't look the least bit tired, looked completely at home behind the bar, cleaning and stacking glasses, a tea towel thrown over her shoulder to help her in her tasks. Picking up two glasses in each hand, she gave him one of those looks, the kind of look that she usually gave him when he'd asked something that she reckoned should be completely obvious. 

"Vic and Nancy didn't say boo when you suggested a lock in," she reminded him archly. "Letting them turn in early and cleaning up is the least you can do." 

Which was a fair point and one he did actually know, but he loved seeing her with her dander up. "So how come you're helping me then?" He picked up a couple of glasses on his way back to the bar. "I seem to recall a certain amount of eyerolling over the last couple of hours..."

Her lips relaxed in a smile as her eyes danced. "Team work," she announced gravely and he met her smile with one of his own. 

"And there I was thinking it was so you could get me up to bed quicker." 

Her fingers brushed against his as she reached to take the glasses from his hand and Gibbo would have denied it to anyone else apart from her but a shiver that was almost electric went up his spine. Even after two years together she still had that effect on him and while he'd often been accused of having tickets on himself, from the way her breath caught in her throat, he reckoned the touch, light as it was, must have had an effect on her too. 

"Well..." Her voice was softer, huskier, confirmation of his guess. "There has to be some advantage..."

Gibbo reached out and snagged the tea towel from her shoulder. "Nothing to do with me being a helpless cripple then?" 

He was teasing her, gave an exaggerated glance down at his missing right arm for good measure but he knew she hadn't found it funny when her whole face darkened. "Don't say that, David." Her voice was crisp, not to be argued with and he dropped the tea towel, closed his fingers over hers. 

"Fair enough. Just my smouldering good looks then." 

And like that, the smile was back, even if the shadows in her eyes hadn't entirely faded. "Keep telling yourself that." 

She turned away then, busily stacking the empty glasses in the dishwasher, then getting the clean ones ready for morning. Gibbo wiped down the bar, probably not well enough to pass muster with Nancy, then he sat down on one of the bar stools that was older than he was and just watched her. 

He liked doing that. 

Her long dark curls spilled down her back, swaying as she moved and she hummed a little song as she worked, nothing he immediately recognised which meant it was either something she was making up as she went along or one of the old Aboriginal songs her grandmother had taught her as a young girl. The light coloured dress she wore contrasted with her darker skin, the base of the zipper catching the lights of the bar every so often, glinting and making Gibbo's fingers itch with desire. 

When she turned back to him, caught him staring, she smiled a slow smile and he rather thought she might be able to read his mind. 

Then again, they'd been living together for two years and he'd never made any secret of how he felt about her so it probably wasn't that difficult to do. 

"Penny for your thoughts," she said and he pretended to be offended. 

"Cheapskate," he said. "They're worth at least diamonds." She shook her head at that, chuckled, but he didn't. "I mean it," he said and her eyes grew very large as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small, black velvet pouch. 

"David..." 

Her hand went to her lips as she watched him fumble open the drawstring, not the easiest thing to do one handed, not even with practice. His hand hadn't been shaking when he'd practised either, but he got there in the end, the diamond ring making a tinkling sound as it fell onto the bar. The small solitaire glistened in the dim light, glistened like the sudden tears in Sharon's eyes and while he usually couldn't stand to see her cry, the way she was smiling had him making an exception. 

"I know I should be getting down on one knee, but I'm afraid if I do that, I'll never get back up again." She giggled and he reached over the bar, held her hand and took a deep breath. "Sharon Herbert, you are hands down the best thing that ever happened to me. I have absolutely no idea why you put up with me... you probably don't either... but I'm glad you do. And I know I'm getting the better end of this deal, no doubt about that... but will you marry me?" 

"David..." The way she said his name was an answer all on its own, especially combined with the smile on her face as her free hand reached out to cup his cheek. "Of course I will." 

Leaning over the bar, they met halfway in a kiss, which Gibbo uncharacteristically cut short in order to slide the ring onto her finger. She kissed him again after that before leading him upstairs, leaving the rest of the cleaning until the morning. 

Neither of them thought that Vic and Nancy would mind and, sure enough, they didn't.


End file.
